Mind games begin as India's out-of-form batters set to receive 'torpedo' from Rohit Sharma; Virat Kohli deemed 'slightly weaker'

Former Australia spinner Kerry O'Keeffe has criticized star Indian batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for their recent struggles in Test cricket. Both players are under intense scrutiny leading up to the highly anticipated five-match Test series against Australia, with many labeling the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy as make-or-break for Kohli and Rohit. Adding to the uncertainty, Rohit's availability for the first Test is in question as he has not joined the rest of the squad due to undisclosed personal reasons.

The Indian captain endured a tough home Test season recently as the Asian giants suffered an embarrassing 0-3 series loss to New Zealand. In the five home Tests this season, Rohit scored 133 runs at an average of 13.30, with a half-century in 10 innings. His scores this home season read 6, 5, 23, 8, 2, 52, 0, 8, 18 and 11, and O'Keeffe is confident that the Australian team will target Rohit whenever he joins the team.

"Rohit Sharma may miss one or two Tests, but he is the captain, and Australia always tries to torpedo the visiting captain. It's been a tactic they've used forever, and I think they'll go very hard at Rohit Sharma," O'Keeffe told Fox Sports.

On the other hand, Kohli struggled miserably against the spin and managed to get 192 runs in 10 innings at an average of 21.33, with just one fifty. He struggled against the spinners and registered a string of low scores: 6, 17. 47, 29*, 0, 70, 1, 17, 4 and 1.

Kohli may still be a force to reckon with in Australia, but for the time being he appears vulnerable, something the Aussie bowlers will keep in mind, reckons O'Keeffe.

"Kohli, who has worried them (Australia) over the years, what a stunning player he's been; but in sport, if you sense that the king of the jungle is slightly weaker, you poke a bit of cheek at him," the former leg-spinner said in the same interaction.

Kohli boasts a stellar Test record against Australia, having scored 2042 runs from 25 Tests including eight centuries, and O'Keeffe predicts that if the former skipper manages to find his mojo back and start scoring big, India would have a bright chance of winning the series and retain the trophy they have been in possession of since 2017.

"I'm fascinated to see what Virat Kohli ends up with at the end of the summer. It could be the decisive point in the whole summer. If he has an absolutely blazing series, India could win," he pointed out.